The city of Indianapolis has begun demolition of eight vacant buildings at Towne and Terrace, a blighted housing complex on the east side, and has paid to relocate a total of 120 households so the entire site can be demolished in early 2026.
The townhome complex near 42nd Street and Post Road, built in the 1960s, has become a hotbed of drug trafficking and crime in recent years, partly due to mismanagement by former homeowners association leaders, the city says. City officials began purchasing the complex’s 32 buildings following a 2022 settlement that ended a nine-year legal battle with the HOA, Towne and Terrace Corp.
Demolition of vacant buildings at the Towne and Terrace townhome complex on Indianapolis’ east side will begin on Monday, December 16, 2024.
The city has set aside $14.4 million to purchase and demolish 32 buildings and relocate about 120 households in Towne and Terrace. Demolition of eight buildings began Monday and the remaining 23 buildings will be demolished over the course of 2025, said Aryn Schounce, senior policy advisor to Mayor Joe Hogsett. The first building was demolished in 2023.
“This demolition is more than just removing buildings,” state Sen. La Keisha Jackson, whose district includes the Towne and Terrace sites, said Monday at a news conference in nearby Mt. Carmel Church. “It’s about restoring hope and ensuring safety for the families who lived here.”
Indiana State Senator La Keisha Jackson speaks during a press conference and provides an update on the status of the Towne and Terrace townhome complex at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Indianapolis on Monday, December 16, 2024. The demolition of eight vacant buildings at the complex will begin this month. Christine Tannous/Indy Star
Once the complex is razed, Schounce told IndyStar, officials will plan the future of the site in conjunction with the neighboring Oaktree Apartments, another property the city acquired and demolished. Schounce said the two sites work better together as one 80-acre mixed-use redevelopment project, rather than two separate smaller ones.
Hogsett said police have received fewer calls for maintenance at the housing complex since the city demolished one building last year. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department also installed four surveillance cameras at the site and increased patrols in the area.
“We look forward to continued public safety improvements as more buildings collapse in the coming months,” Hogsett said.
An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department car passes as demolition begins on vacant buildings Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, at the Towne and Terrace townhome complex on Indianapolis’ east side.
How the city is relocating Towne and Terrace residents
Officials expect the 20 households left on the site will find new homes this spring, with the help of Department of Metropolitan Development staff.
Under the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Act, the city offered subsidies to tenants so they could pay the same monthly rent as in Towne and Terrace for the next three and a half years. For owner-occupiers, the city had to pay the difference between the cost of a new, comparable home and their home in Towne and Terrace. The city also covered moving costs.
Liz Durden, a Towne and Terrace resident since 1989 and current HOA president, said she was reluctant to leave when the city first shared plans to raze all 32 buildings last April.
However, in the following months, Durden found a more expensive single-family home on the far east side, and the city paid the difference. Now the 62-year-old grandmother says she owns a better home with no monthly mortgage payments.
Aryn Schounce (left), senior policy advisor to Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, comforts Liz Durden (right), Towne and Terrace HOA president, during a press conference providing an update on the status of the Towne and Terrace townhome complex at Monday, December 16, 2024, at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Indianapolis. The demolition of eight vacant buildings at the complex will begin this month.
Although the process was stressful and she is sad to see the place where she had so many memories destroyed, Durden has embraced the change.
“I’m very emotional about it, but it keeps getting better and better,” Durden said, “because when I walk through the door of my new house, I love it.”
Email IndyStar Housing, Growth and Development Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis is demolishing a troubled housing complex on its far east side
